Editor’s comment: Celebrating aviation

LARA’s Kimberley Young provides a summary of the latest announcements across the low-fare and regional aviation industry.

As the United States looks back on the history of flight with its National Aviation Day, observed on 19 August (the day was established in 1939 to coincide with the anniversary of the birth in 1871 of Orville Wright – one half of the famous Wright brothers), airlines, pilots, OEMs and MROs alike have been celebrating the achievements and developments of the industry.

The celebratory mood continued for the Minnesota-based low-fare carrier Sun Country Airlines, which announced it is expanding with six new nonstop routes from Nashville, Tennessee.

Jude Bricker, president and CEO of Sun Country Airlines, explained: “The new service in Nashville is part of our continued effort to grow as a brand, which will allow us to invest in our employees and community here in Minnesota.”

The airline will offer nonstop flights from Nashville International Airport to Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, New Orleans and Minneapolis, bringing Sun Country’s total nonstop service to 70 routes.

Also feeling celebratory this week is SR Technics, which has secured a two-year engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) agreement with Eurowings to cover part of the low-fare carrier’s CFM56-5B fleet.

Michael Sattler, chief commercial officer at SR Technics, shared his delight to have won the agreement, adding: “This clearly reflects on our excellent relationship with Eurowings, and our ability to adapt the challenging scheduling requirements and offer flexible solutions.”

All work under the new agreement will be completed at SR Technics Zurich Airport facility and covers engine MRO solutions, including airfoils repairs in SR Technic’s Cork, Ireland, facility and full parts and material management for more than 30 engines.

TP Aerospace meanwhile is rolling up its sleeves with the unveiling of a new growth plan called Green Sunrise.

The Danish company plans to open 11 new locations worldwide within the next two years – adding to its existing seven sites to be able to support customers from 18 locations around the world in 2020.

Ten of the new locations will be MRO facilities designed to support current and future customers in the regions, with the majority in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, three in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and two in the Americas. Peter Lyager, CEO and founder of TP Aerospace, commented: “There is no doubt that project Green Sunrise is very ambitious and even aggressive, but this is exactly who we are and what we represent as a company.”

Perhaps this is a good time to take a look back on the industry and how much it has grown, and consider what developments lie on the flight path ahead.